How I Prepare For A Summer Holiday

Booking a holiday abroad is so exciting! Knowing that you're getting away to a new country and seeing new sights along with catching some of those rays of sunshine that we rarely see here in the UK. My holiday preparation's got me even more excited and I haven't stopped planning and making sure I have everything so I thought it might be cool to share how I might go about preparing for a holiday from shopping to packing. I'm going to Kos in just a few days so it's a sunny relaxing holiday I'm preparing for - my favourite kind!

Holiday Shopping

One of the very first things I do after booking a holiday is start to think about my wardrobe. I love a really lovely summer wardrobe so I find holiday shopping the most exciting type of shopping. But before I even get to shopping, as a gal on a budget I like to go in my wardrobe and find my potential outfits and choices for holiday. I'll try on everything to see what I have and what I don't have and then I plan my shopping list according to what's needed. This way I don't waste money on things I don't really need. If I wasn't on such a budget I might treat myself to a couple extra of really lovely pieces as a treat! This time around all I need is shorts, bikinis and shoes. I've got my shorts coming from Boohoo this week and I bought this gorgeous lime green bikini from Pour Moi in the sale for a steal! I still have a couple of cheap flip-flops to get but they're low priority as I have some sandals already.

Planning The List

I love a list. I love everything about lists and how organised it makes you feel. Every year I write a list of every single last thing I might need from clothes and shoes to every toiletry and potential charger I might need. I've used my favourite notebook to make this list and taken it to the next level with colour coding. In purple are things John and I both need, in pink just things I need and in blue just things John needs. This way I make just one really efficient list we can tick off together. I've already made the list but I'm going to probably get a little extra and type it up at some point this week! *Crazy-list-lady here*

I Pack Twice (At Least)

Yup. I'm that weirdo who will pack, unpack, repack and double check I've packed to my maximum potential. I like to test the different packing methods to see what is going to work for me this year. Where things will go. What will be safe where. Different ways of folding. Different ways of layering. I usually get it by the second or third try but if I'm having a mare it can take about five or six times. Please don't tell me I'm the only one who does this!?

Hand Luggage

Anything longer than 2 hours requires a well planned hand luggage. Yes, you need all your essentials, But I would have already made sure I have them long ago and packed them into my travel organiser. Now, I need to make sure I have all the things I might want to do or need in the plane even if I'm actually not going to use it. I don't know how I'll feel on the plane! I might want my iPad, I might want to do a crossword puzzle. I might need a notebook and pen or I might just want to sleep and not need any of those things I've carefully planned for. But I always ensure I have a well packed hand luggage for any mood and fancy. For both me and John!

Skincare Routine

On holiday I like to wear as little makeup as possible if I'm going to be by the pool or on the beach, simply because I'm not daring panda eyes at any point and I want to be able to get a lovely natural tan on my face too. So from the moment I know I'm going away, my skincare routine gets stricter and probably have a few extra steps added to it. In general, my routine fluctuates and it's not something I'm good at keeping strict and daily. But when you know you're going bare faced for 90% of the time on holiday, you're going to want to know that you can be confident with the skin you're in. For me, I would like to prevent any spots from occurring and waking up tired looking skin. This means extra sleep, regular face masks, focus on clearing pores and emphasis on moisturising dry skin (something I suffer with a lot). These are of course part of my skincare routine already in some way but as I mentioned, focus is more emphasised on those particulars as I find them to be the things I like to sort out for holiday especially.

There of course lots of other things I do to prepare for my holidays but at the moment, these are the main things. I'll be off to Kos on Sunday and I'm sure you'll be seeing some new posts in a couple of weeks about my time away. I'm really excited and it's super needed for both me and John so we know it's going to be a super relaxing and lovely time away. Weather is looking good too...
Anyway! What are your tips to preparing for a holiday? Is there anything you do extra to prepare or anything you do that's the same. Let's chat about it in the comments :)

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